Kurt Vonnegut on Man-Eating Lampreys | Blank on Blank
358,960
Published 2015-11-10
"Nothing means anything" - Kurt Vonnegut on November 8, 1970
From the Pacifica Radio Archives
Hear the full, unedited interview plus see Vonnegut's art work, learn secrets of Slaughterhouse-Five, and more nuggets of Vonnegut here: blankonblank.org/kurt-vonnegut
In November 1970, Kurt Vonnegut walked into a class room at NYU. He was a guest speaker that day. He’d prepared some handwritten notes on what he wanted to say: there were his thoughts on the art of writing, his childhood, the death of his parents. He jumped from topic to topic as he shuffled through his papers. Sometimes his voice trailed off. He delivered punchlines with perfect timing. The class roared. Listening to this tape, we get to be flies on the wall that day. So take a seat, but your book bag down and enjoy. Here’s Kurt Vonnegut
Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Animator: Patrick Smith
Audio Producer: Amy Drozdowska
Colorist: Jennifer Yoo
Subscribe for new episodes every other Tuesday... it's free:
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=blankonbl…
Music You Heard via APM
"Aphorismen Fur Klavier Op.3 (1961)"
"24 Piano Preludes 12"
Krzysztof Aleksander Meyer
"Paris Blues Waltz"
Frederic Robert Chauvigne
"Punti Di Vista No.1 For Piano Solo"
James Dashow
More Blank on Blank episodes: blankonblank.org/pbs
Bill Murray on Being Obnoxious
• Bill Murray on Being Obnoxious
Patty Hearst on Reasonable Doubt
• Patty Hearst on Reasonable Doubt | Bl...
Tom Waits on Everything and Nothing
• Tom Waits on Everything and Nothing
Hunter S. Thompson on Outlaws
• Hunter S. Thompson on Outlaws
BB King on The Blues
• B.B. King on The Blues | Blank on Blank
Elliott Smith on Freaks
• Elliott Smith on Freaks | Blank on Blank
Robin Williams on Masks
• Robin Williams on Masks
Wayne Coyne on Living with Death
• Wayne Coyne on Living with Death | Bl...
Maya Angelou on Con Men
• Maya Angelou on Con Men | Blank on Blank
Bette Davis on The Sexes
• Bette Davis on The Sexes
Michael Jackson on Godliness
• Michael Jackson on Godliness | Blank ...
Jimi Hendrix on The Experience
• Jimi Hendrix on The Experience | Blan...
Meryl Streep on Beauty
• Meryl Streep on Beauty | Blank on Blank
Philip Seymour Hoffman on Happiness
• Philip Seymour Hoffman on Happiness
David Bowie on Stardust
• David Bowie on Stardust | Blank on Blank
Gene Wilder on The Truth
• Gene Wilder on The Truth | Blank on B...
John Lennon on Love
• John Lennon and Yoko Ono on Love | Bl...
Johnny Cash on The Gospel
• Johnny Cash on The Gospel
Heath Ledger on Role Playing
• Heath Ledger on Role Playing | Blank ...
Tupac on Life and Death
• Tupac Shakur on Life and Death | Blan...
Kurt Cobain on Identity
• Kurt Cobain on Identity | Blank on Blank
Janis Joplin on Rejection
• Janis Joplin on Rejection | Blank on ...
Help us caption & translate this video!
amara.org/v/Q8FL/
All Comments (21)
-
"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt"
-
"I think parents are often much happier then parents realize"...deep
-
Vonnegut was stuck in that place where the world loses it’s promise of meaning and that’s what he wrote about - the absurdity of the meaning we’ve applied to the meaningless. He could have gone beyond this phase, of course, but he was too interested in writing. And thank God for that.
-
this is really fantastic. i read vonnegut constantly in highschool and early in college, then put it down for many years. I just read Hocus Pocus, im 32 now, and his genius has surprised me more than ever before. He has a wisdom, a mindfulness, that he tried to instill onto people through his writing and talks, how life doesn't really mean anything, except to you, so appreciate it when its good, because sometimes or oftentimes it will be bad, and then its over. So it goes.
-
"What everybody is well advised to do is to not write about your own life, this is if you want to write fast. You will be writing about your own life anyway, but you won't know it." The more that I write, whether it be for personal or academic reasons, the more I'm beginning to see that this is true.
-
The piano music is fitting to his writing style
-
I never realized how much I missed him until now. So many of us from that generation decided we were too sophisticated for Vonnegut, after adoring him until college. We were wrong. He was always the wiser one.
-
He really was a true genius.
-
This was way too short--too short, but marvelous.
-
Been reading Cat's Cradle. One of the greatest books I've ever read.
-
I'm surprised that these weren't getting sponsored earlier, the quality is extremely high :) always look forward to watching these.
-
*Nervous music* "I have written a story called 'The Big Space-fuck'" *Audience bursts out laughing*
-
Vonnegut's fixation with death is very interesting. Not the first or last time I've heard him compare his current age to the age other people died
-
since I've discovered these I've been addicted to them all. thank you so much everyone who contributes and the great minds that inspire and give hope. its all we have. never let that die. the child in you.
-
Dear Patrick Smith, Your animation is amazing ! thank you
-
I don’t understand why I keep seeing comments saying that these are way too short, I don’t think people understand how long it probably takes too make just short animations like these
-
You don't find Kurt Vonnegut, his stories find you.
-
You guys are amazing. Would love to see an interview of Charles Bukowski. That man was a walking tragedy. A very interesting one tho.
-
awesome animation and amazing opportunity to hear Vonnegut, thank you!
-
4:00 That is one of my favorite short stories. I think that it is because the setting would basically be America at the time through a pessimistic lens where many ideas that are seemingly random emerge, like giant lamprey eels from Lake Erie, only to connect to one another by the end.
